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Google Play will suggest neglected apps for you to uninstall
When you add an app from Google Play and space on your phone is tight, you're often stuck wondering which of your darlings programs you should kill delete. According to Android Police, Google Play is going to help your decision-making process by offering up suggestions as to what you no longer need. When you've run out of on-board storage, you'll be given a list of your least-used apps, ranked in order of weight. So, in the example, the store suggests that you wipe Google Translate or Facebook Messenger and free up some much-needed space. It's not clear if the feature is rolling out to users worldwide or if this is a limited trial, but we've asked Google to let us know.
Google Play lets you update and uninstall apps from the comfort of your browser
It's surely been a crazy couple of weeks for the folks at Google. The company clearly has more new features than it can shove into a couple of lengthy keynotes -- like functionality for Play that lets users update and uninstall apps by way of the My Android Apps tab in the browser-based version of the store. Check the source link below to begin your cloud-based bidding. [Thanks, Allen]
Lion: Deleting apps in Launchpad, and starting clean
Launchpad in Mac OS Lion shares a key behavior with its iOS counterpart: deleting an app from the launcher also uninstalls it from the computer, as long as the app was purchased from the Mac App Store. Of course, it's quick and easy to redownload the MAS apps if they're needed. While this insta-delete, complete with jiggling icons, may be counterintuitive for longtime Mac users, it makes perfect sense to iPhone or iPad users where there's a one-to-one mapping between apps on the launcher screen and apps installed on the device. On other mobile platforms, that's not necessarily the case: both Android and Blackberry devices have the ability to hide or subset visible apps versus the full suite of installed programs. The flip side of this strong linkage between installation/removal and visibility of MAS apps in Launchpad is that non-MAS/conventionally installed apps cannot be deleted from the Launchpad UI. If you don't want all that app clutter, the only default options are to move the space-wasting apps into Launchpad folders (laborious) or move the apps themselves out of the Applications folder in the Finder (boneheaded, and actually won't work, per commenters). Even resetting your Launchpad (as Erica noted last week) still includes all your apps in the launcher's pages. There is another way, however, to blank out your Launchpad and start clean. Web developer Loren Segal points out the 'nuclear option' of deleting all the app records from the Launchpad database, which lets you select individual apps to include by dragging their icons onto the Launchpad dock icon (command-click to select multiple apps before dragging). He suggests backing up the relevant database file beforehand, in case of issues, and I concur. Here's the process in the Terminal, line by line: mkdir ~/Desktop/DB_Backup [makes a folder on your desktop to back up the data files] cp ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db ~/Desktop/DB_Backup/ [copies the database] sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db 'DELETE FROM apps;' && killall Dock sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db 'DELETE from apps;' \ ' DELETE from groups WHERE title<>""; DELETE from items WHERE rowid>2;' \ && killall Dock [deletes the app records from Launchpad's database, and restarts the Dock process; you'll see your minimized windows pop back to the screen. Update: Loren posted a new version, as above, that fixes the folders issue.] Blank Launchpad! You may notice that any folders previously in Launchpad will still be there, albeit vacant. To get rid of them, simply load at least one app into Launchpad, then drag the app into & out of the folder. It will 'evaporate' when it's empty. If you do decide that you prefer the full-list Launchpad, you can either restore the database to its original location, or follow the tip in Erica's post to reset/rebuild and get all your apps back.
Ask TUAW video edition: Uninstalling Mac apps
Hey everyone, Ask TUAW has gone video to help you with all those questions you send in. Today we help Donna, who asks about removing installed apps from her Mac. Remember, you can leave us questions in the comments! The video is on the next page. Mentioned in this video: Adobe uninstaller (included in CS installations), but you can also try the CS5 Cleaner Tool if you're having issues with the Creative Suite. AppZapper Also, check out our Mac 101 on uninstalling (a couple of years old now) and how to uninstall System Preference panes.
Ask TUAW: Outlook 2011 attachment problems, Apple TV alternatives, deleting apps and more
Welcome back to another edition of Ask TUAW. Each week this column will feature questions from readers and answers by the TUAW team. If you have questions for the following week's column, drop them in the comments, and I will do my best to get to them. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). If you're asking an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad question, be sure to note which model and version of iOS you have. For this week we've got a new batch of questions about Microsoft Outlook attachments, Apple TV alternatives, keeping an iPad, getting an iPod touch, deleting applications and more. Lee asks: I'm using Outlook 2011 on my iMac and many times when I receive attachments in emails the attachments are Winmail.dat files and I can't open them. How can I fix this? Unfortunately, those 'winmail.dat' files are created when the sender's Exchange server or Outlook for Windows client encodes the file attachment; if they've got your contact flagged in Outlook as someone who can receive 'Rich Text' messages, you'll get the Outlook PC-only winmail file. Fortunately, there is the free TNEF's Enough utility; this tool will quickly and easily decode your inbound attachments. (For those who are using Mail.app, there's also the US$29.95 LetterOpener for Mail.app, which integrates winmail.dat handling and several other Outlook-savvy tools into a Mail plugin. There's a free iPhone/iPad app, too.) You can also contact those people sending you the attachments and ask them to change the format they use when sending email to you.
How to uninstall the PTR client
A minor but important point: do not run the uninstaller to remove the Public Test Realm (PTR) client, just delete the PTR folder. Most people can find the PTR client inside the "WoWTest" folder, which resides in the "World of Warcraft" folder. More specifically, you should be able to locate the WoW Test folder in "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\World of Warcraft\". If you have MacOS X the "WoWTest" folder is stored in "Macintosh HD::Applications::World of Warcraft".Other people can find the PTR client inside of the folder "C:\Users\Public\Games\World of Warcraft Public Test" in Windows Vista and "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft Public Test" in WindowsXP. MacOS X users can find the files in "MacintoshHD::Applications::World of Warcraft Public Test".This important bit of information came from blue poster Maaven on the official forums today. With Patch 3.0.2 being released tomorrow, the PTR client is useless and came be safely removed. But be sure that you remove it the way Maaven suggests.WoW Insider will have a lot of 3.0.2 coverage tomorrow. We'll also be keeping the light on tonight and will get you the patch notes as soon as they appear.
Mac 101: Remove unwanted System Preference panes
Sometimes applications can install extras in the form of System Preference panes. However, when you remove the app from your Mac, you might be left with extraneous System Preference panes. To uninstall System Preference panes, just right-click (or control + click if you have a one button mouse) on the preference pane icon and select "remove x preference pane."When you click "remove," the preference pane will be instantly moved to the OS X Trash can where you can completely remove it from your system by emptying the trash. Please note that this will only work on System Preference panes located in the "Other" section of System Preferences.Want to see more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section today!
Mac 101: uninstalling applications
This time around in Mac 101 I thought it would be good to talk about uninstalling applications on the Mac, especially for the recent switchers out there. Unlike Windows, Mac OS X does not have a native utility for uninstalling applications. Most (though not all) applications are installed just by dragging and dropping them into the Applications folder, and most are similarly got rid of by dragging them to the trash. However, when you do that you often leave behind preference and support files, especially in your user Library folder hierarchy (/Users/yourname/Library, as distinct from /Library which is "owned" by Mac OS X). While you can root these files out yourself, it's sometimes far from obvious where they are. To resolve this, a new class of uninstallers have appeared on the scene to address the problem. One of the first was AppZapper ($12.95), but many more have arisen like AppDelete (donations requested), SuperPop ($15), and CleanApp ($10). With most of these you choose the application you want deleted by dropping it on the uninstaller (or choosing it from a list); hit a button and the application plus its support files are sent to the trash. Taking a slightly different approach, Yank ($19.95) actually monitors your system while you are installing applications and creates a "Yank File" that records the location of everything created by the application. You then uninstall by running the Yank File. Finally, there are uninstallers that integrate with the Trash itself, requiring no separate interface. Into this class fall Hazel ($21.95), which also does other automatic file management tasks, and AppTrap (donations requested). What's great about these last two is that you can just drag an application to the trash and they will automatically look for and offer to delete the support files. Indeed, this seems to me to be the most Mac-like and elegant approach. For my own part I mostly just use Hazel, though I still throw things at AppZapper now and again.
Is this a 'sign' of things to come for Vista?
We're not saying a sign in some little computer shop in Milford, New Hampshire is an indication of popular opinion, but there's a reason those presidential candidates always end up in small towns on the campaign trail. Whatever the case may be, the folks at A&D computer are here to help... uninstall Vista from your PC. Hey, uninstalling unwieldy OSs is all well and good, but personally, we'd like to know more about this notebook repair.
AppTrap
Everyone loves AppZapper for removing unwanted applications, and while many have called for something like it to be included in future versions of OS X, AppTrap comes closer to replicating the Mac simplicity we all enjoy so much. Expanding on the drag-and-drop workflow used to install programs, simply drag the unused application to the trash, and AppTrap pops up asking if you'd also like to delete any associated files. AppTrap is free, open source, and installed as a system preference pane.
AppZapper 1.6
When it comes to uninstalling crap from OS X there is only one program that you should turn to (other than the Trash can) and that's AppZapper. Everyone's favorite application deletion software was just been updated to version 1.6.New in version 1.6 are: Sparkle, for auto updating multi QuickZap™ which allows you to delete multiple things at once Better at deleting all files associated with an app AppZapper costs $12.95, with a family license for $18.
AppZapper updated to version 1.5
AppZapper is one of my favorite utilities. As you can see from the screenshot at right, it's one of only two applications to earn the honor of a spot in my Finder windows' toolbar (ImageWell is the other). For the uninitiated, AppZapper lets you easily uninstall software. Just drop your target app's icon onto AppZapper and it searches your Mac for all related files. One click and they're all sent to the trash. Nice and easy.Today, version 1.5 has been made available. Changes include: Several bug fixes Resized QuickZap icons Reworked window resizing There's more, of course, including the coolest new feature, ZapGenie. This lets you sort your applications by the last time they were used. Quickly find and eliminate those apps you downloaded, tried once and then abandoned months ago! AppZapper requires Tiger and a one-time fee of $12.95US includes free upgrades for life.
